The bill, S-1650 in the Senate, was recently approved by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee — a promising development to some.

The measure would require that, under the direction of the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, the Office of Emergency Medical Services in the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) would serve as the lead state agency for the oversight of all emergency medical services delivery in New Jersey.

Mandated standards across the board would improve response times, availability and the overall quality of care for residents throughout the state, proponents say.

“People do not realize the crisis that’s going on in EMS services in the state right now,” Sweeney said Friday. “We can close our eyes and ignore the problem, or we could be honest with each other.”

The bill would provide criminal background checks and fingerprinting of all EMS personnel, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) hardware for all ambulances, and GPS monitoring software for DHSS as well.

State authorities would oversee data collection by responders. They would also apply standards for education and response times to emergency scenes and would regulate dispatchers.

The DHSS Commissioner would issue an annual report on EMS issues.

“This calls for other agencies within the state to raise the bar,” said Gloucester County Emergency Medical Service Chief Andy Lovell. “And it makes me, as a paramedic, and every other EMS provider accountable to the most important person in this system — the patient.”

Previous concerns voiced by the region’s health care professionals have included a lack of data on responses run by municipal squads, the failure to request paramedics at a scene, non-certified members of EMS squads doing things only certified EMTs are qualified to do, the failure to maintain equipment, and even instances where convicted sex offenders have successfully joined squads without a thorough background check.

Lovell said these shortfalls still haven’t been addressed in many parts of New Jersey, when states like New York, Vermont, Virginia and Pennsylvania addressed the issue in the 1980’s.

Having just celebrated the five-year anniversary of Gloucester County’s county-wide EMS service at the end of September, Sweeney said proof of an efficient, regionalized system is already out there.

“The model used in Gloucester County, it works,” said Sweeney (D-3, West Deptford), who strongly encourages a similar approach for the entire Garden State.

According to the senate president, 846 emergency calls went unanswered in just one year in Gloucester County before the county-run system took effect. Municipalities were not able to keep up with demands, he said.

Since then, said Sweeney, the county fleet has efficiently tended to 74,000 calls.

“There were a lot of people who thought we would fail when we initiated this regionalized service, but here we are five years later and our system-wide average response time remains under six minutes,” said Gloucester County Freeholder Director Robert Damminger.

Sixteen of the county’s 24 municipalities now participate in the county service, which is still open to interested towns.

According to Salem County Freeholder Ben Laury, his county hopes to rely on municipalities to oversee their own emergency services; however, the Salem County is looking to play a more active and supportive role, he said.

“My first instinct? For the state to take over anything would be a disappointment,” Laury said. “We know what’s best for our citizens.”

The freeholder said very few complaints have surfaced about response times in Salem County and the municipal systems run smoothly.

Salem County is, however, in the market for additional ambulance vehicles to assist municipalities as soon as the county budget will allow, said Laury.

In Cumberland County, Deputy Freeholder Director Thomas Sheppard said his qualms with a statewide system are mostly centered on the future of volunteers.

“How would you blend their efforts into the system?” Sheppard asked. “I’d hate to lose them. We have some great volunteer squads.”

According to Lovell, chief of GCEMS, volunteers would not be counted out under state oversight. They would simply have to conform to a higher and more consistent standard.

“Volunteers would still be able to do exactly what they do now. Most volunteer agencies actually welcome and encourage this [oversight],” Lovell said.

“Our patients already assume there is a single standard in place. EMS is the front door of the healthcare system and is much more than just transportation,” Lovell added. “At the end of the day, this is the right thing to do for our patients.”

S-1650 was approved by the Senate budget committee with a vote of 8-4-1. It heads to the Senate floor next.